Greater regulation

Mike Philpot has seen plenty of changes in the industry, including greater regulation of firework technicians and the introduction of electronic detonation.

He maintains the audience is never at risk from properly-staged firework shows but recalls an incident years ago when he received serious facial injuries while assisting with a show in Adelaide.

He said the person in charge had loaded shells for a one-off burst before the main event.

"Something had gone wrong in the loading of the shells," he said.

"Six went up in the air and we watched that and then we realised it was only six and as we looked down, the seventh shell was actually sitting on the ground.

"It exploded, knocked us all over ... I had been hit in the face, my cheeks had been broken, my nose had been broken. I had to have reconstructive surgery on my face."

But the thought of leaving the industry never entered his mind.

"Fireworks are in my blood, I could never stop doing it," he said.

Part of the addiction of working with fireworks and creating spectacular shows is the adrenalin rush.

"When we fire the really big shells, the six-inch and eight-inch, then it's a real adrenalin rush, the lifting charge is a much larger charge so you feel the concussion through your body," Mike Philpot said.

"If you're on a jetty or something like that, you actually feel that come through the jetty ... the force involved, you know you're using large pieces of explosives."

At a starting cost of $1,800 per minute, fireworks shows are not cheap but the Philpots say there is a lot of work behind the scenes.

"People don't see the labour that goes into it, all the fireworks are hand-made and we spend at least a full day before we go to the oval," Mike Philpot said.

"When you do a good show, you know because the crowd goes absolutely berserk. That's the main thing and it's a good stress relief, blowing things up is always good."

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